I Put My Left Foot Down First
by 2028
Summary: After a ridiculous case, David and Colby get stuck driving across a bridge. What happens when the rescue crew does not realize Colby is left footed? Please review.


David and Colby walked out of the office.

They finally finished their case and after listening to Charlie talk math mumbo jumbo and hearing Don argue with his younger brother, they were more than ready to head home.

"Glad that case is over" says David.

Colby could see the lines in his partner's face and he knew David was just as exhausted as he was. They were agents; they loved their job and serving the country and helping people, but after working for twenty four hours straight, that faded and their focus was sleeping. A lot. Possibly for like three days.

The agents split and walked to their individual cars. After hell in LA traffic each made it to their respective apartments.

* * *

In the morning, Don called Colby with a new case. Really, criminals never sleep, he thought.

Knowing he needed serious coffee to get through this case, he grabbed a thermos on his way out the door.

He met David, Megan, and Don at the scene, after going through a serious amount of security. As he glanced around, he knew why they were called. The scene was not too gruesome, but it was the home of a politician . _Darn, why did politics play such a role in investigating?_ Cases should be based on merit and not on who had connections and was brave enough to bother the FBI about a car theft. _Get over it man, people are dying and you have enough money to buy a new car_.

Don somehow worked his boss magic and convinced the guy to let the police handle the case. He got back in the car to drive back to the office. David rode with him and complained about the amount of paperwork they had when they got back.

"Hey at least Don let us sleep before bringing down the hammer this time".

"Yeah what was he thinking last time, making us write reports after a 16 hour shift".

"Well it is a safe bet that he could not read our handwriting" laughed Colby.

They drove over a bridge and David jerked forward suddenly.

"Darn" he said "They really need to repair the boards in the middle. They look really rotted out".

Colby paid little attention as he tried to stop the car from rolling over.

"Watch it!'' David yelled.

"Trying. Man versus 6000 lb car. Do the math''.

"Can't, Charlie isn't here, Colby''.

Colby grinned at his partner before hearing a loud pop. "I am guessing the tires just blow out''.

The bridge shifted and Colby gripped the wheel, trying not to fall into the river below them.

* * *

Don was getting worried; his agents were not back yet and even though they hated driving, they usually made it back before him and Megan.

* * *

Meanwhile, Colby closed his eyes and waited for the moving to stop. When the car finally settled, the front wheels were falling through the hole where the car's weight crushed the rotted wood.

David groaned when he saw the front of the car "Hope Don won't be too pissed that we ruined another suspension system."

Colby hoped the same thing and commented ''We go through a lot of cars, don't we?''  
"And yet we still have jobs so Don must like us'' said David.

Their phones rang suddenly. David looked at his and saw Don was calling him. Colby glanced at his without moving too much and saw Megan was calling him.

David looked at him and asked " Switch''?

"No way dude, I had to tell him the last time we ruined a car. It is your turn''.

* * *

Don was annoyed; he trained his agent to always pick up their phones and here both his missing agents were taking forever to answer their damn phones.

Like my dad says "Why am I paying for phones if you never answer them?'' thought Don.

Megan glanced at Don, about to voice her concern when she heard Colby talking to her on the other end.

Don hung up his phone when he saw Megan was connected.

"What is going on guys? Are you okay? "

"Yes, we are, but we own the FBI a new SUV''.

" We?" said David "You were the one driving, you own the FBI a new SUV''.

"People'' Don cut it to their argument, "What is going on?"

"Don we are kinda...trapped in the middle of a rotted bridge''.

Megan looked concerned but slightly amused and Don tried to remember which bridges the area were rotted.

"Are you guys on William Street bridge?'' he asked. Colby thought back to the turn he took off the highway, "Yes'' he answered. "Why?''

Don rolled his eyes and replied, "That bridge has been out for months. No one is supposed to be there.'' David suddenly felt guilty for distracting Colby and and said to Don "Well can you come get us out? We can't move unless we want to fall in the river".

Don's worry increased knowing his agents were in danger of falling into the river. That water had so much garbage in it, they would never escape it.

Megan replied before him saying "We are coming, no moving.''

* * *

Don called Charlie remembering what he did when in the earthquake last year; determining which parts of the building were secure.

''Hello'' Charlie answered. "Yea Colby and David managed to get themselves into another mess. Want to meet us at the bridge on William Street?''

Charlie glanced at the clock, noting he had four hours until he had to meet his grad students. He grabbed his notebook and ran out the door. "On my way " he told Don.

When he arrived Charlie started scribbling in a notebook and looking at the pillars of the bridge "Okay" he yelled after a minute, "We need to get support beams under the car two feet from the front and two and half feet from the back without further compromising the remaining structure".

Don nodded to the fire department, silently asking them to trust his brother and not waste time trying to formulate their own plan; this needed to happen fast.

Megan who had silent up until this point, went over to work with Charlie and the fire department while Don stayed with David and Colby.

That was a nice thing about having such a good team, they could practically read his mind.

Realizing yelling to the middle of the bridge was ridiculous, he called David back and asked what happened.

"We were driving back and the tires popped then we started sinking into the wood of the bridge''.

The boards were lifted by a guy on the ladder truck and slide under the car. Don told David and Colby to stay still until the boards were in place and then they could climb onto the ladder truck.

Colby insisted David go first as he was in the passenger seat. Megan, Don and Charlie watched with baited breath as David opened the door, causing the bridge to groan in protest, and tested his weight on the board before finally standing on them.

He put on his arms for balance, reminding the team members on the road of a six year old learning to ride a skateboard, but hey whatever works.  
David finally climbed onto the ladder and started to climb back to the truck, where he climbed down and landed on the road.

"Your turn Colby'' he yelled. Well so much for quiet communication over cell phones, Don thought. Colby crawled across the passenger seat and through the still open door. He again tested the boards and put his foot out to stand on the board.

Don and the team watched with wide eyes as Colby fell into the river and they stilled as the water rushed over him and whisked him away.

Charlie was vividly reminded of the dam when he and Amita were with Colby investing on the Primacy case and prayed Colby's rescue would be as easy this time around.

David screamed at seeing his brother vanish before his eyes. He felt like his lungs were flying down that river with Colby.

Megan grimaced and ground her teeth together keep from crying.

Charlie flew down to his papers, trying to figure it why the board held for David and not Colby.

Don recovered first and looked over at Charlie, who once again hiding in the numbers when the situation got difficult. Then Don forced away that thought, feeling guilty because he knew his brother was worried too.

The rescue crew, who had been packing up, paused and looked to Don for instructions on how to proceed.

Don pulled himself together and yelled "Okay someone mark the time and the rest of you follow the water and see if you can figure out where he might end up. Look for any clues and see if he might have crawled up on a ledge''. More quietly so only the team could hear him he continued, "Megan get Larry, Amita and my dad out here. We need as many people searching as possible and Charlie see if they have any information on the currents of the river".

He went over to David, who looked paralyzed from the shock of seeing his partner swept away. "David'' Don said "We need to focus. Come on. Colby is army, he can swim, hell, he can tread water for hours; he will be fine.'' David nodded and followed one of the rescue crews down the bank to search for his best friend.

After a couple hours without results, Don and David's anxiety was increasing with every passing second, the crews realized they were undermanned. More people were called and the search continued with a renewed determination. The director finally ordered the search to be expanded to helicopters and Don could see they scanning the river looking for the missing agent.

Megan, Charlie and the rest of Don's family looked exhausted although it had only been a few hours. "Searching for a missing loved drained you quickly." Don thought.

* * *

About mile down the river Colby crawled up the bank and tried not to move too much. His side was killing him and his eyes hurt too much to open and figure out what was bothering him.

* * *

The search continued and David was having hard time controlling his emotions. "Partner, I thought we were done scaring the lights out of each other; with all the gunshots, car accidents and explosions we have survived, you would have thought driving across a bridge would be easy."

David imagined Colby's grin in his head and heard his voice telling David "All in a day's work".

David glanced up at the sky and saw two vultures circling. On a hunch he desperately hoped was wrong, he followed them and had to walk another two miles before he found his partner on the bank. In the hope that they would find Colby sooner, the search had been gradually expanding, but this little beach close to where Colby dropped had not been checked.

Relief filled David's heart when he saw his partner, but that was quickly stomped back down when he saw Colby's blood spilling out onto the ground and noticed how pale he was. David sprinted over to him, tripping and falling, before he slid to a halt at Colby's head.

He lightly shook his partner, remembering the first aid course and trying not to panic. Colby's eyes flickered open briefly and David held his breath as he waited for Colby to finish opening his eyes.

"Oh god'' he breathed when Colby's eyes finally opened and he saw life there. But just as quickly his eyes dropped back closed and he lost conscious. Maybe he wanted to make sure he was found before he passed out.

David called Don who answered immediately and screamed in excitement when he heard Colby had been located and was alive. David kept the line open as he set the phone down and examined his partner trying to stop the bleeding.

He remembered the first aid instructor saying never pull the knife out of the wound as the knife held the blood in until the victim could be moved to a more source location to have the knife extracted. Well that was not really an option in this case thought David. He tugged off his jacket and pressed it to Colby's side, sickly relieved when Colby groaned in protest because that meant he was alive enough to recognize the situation and respond to a painful stimulus..

Don started yelling through the phone, asking David where he was. David looked and realized in his mission to follow the vultures, he had wandered out of the designated search area. "Sorry Don, I think got I lost in the crazy underbrush on the banks of this river. Can you track my phone?"

Don quickly said "Yes" and ordered Megan to trace the call on his phone. "Okay" David heard Megan say "They are a mile north of the site where Colby...fell through the bridge''.

"Good'' Don said. "We are coming with the cavalry, David. We'll be there soon''.

"Hurry" David said quietly. "The FBI's best might not be fast enough today".

* * *

Don glanced worriedly at Megan and asked hesitantly, "Why? What are his injuries?''

David shook his head and then remembered they could not see him. He said "He has a big slice out of his side and it looks infected; however I am more worried about the blood loss. He hasn't woken up even though I started applying pressure".

Don grew more concerned, remembering from where he was stabbed, how much that hurt and how he had jerked around when anyone tried to touch the wound.

"Megan stay on the phone and I will get the rescue crew moving'' Don ran off before she could answer and within minutes he had his dad, Larry, Charlie, Amita, Megan and three paramedics following him down the path to find his agents.

* * *

The path curved and the hill got steeper as they continued but they just walked faster, fueled by worry and the adrenaline rush of the last couple minutes.

David knew his team was almost there when he heard them yelling their names through the trees and the paramedics crashing through the brush with a back board.

They came into view a second later and the paramedics rushed to secure Colby to the backboard muttering medical terms under their breath that David did not understand but that sounded scary. Colby was seriously low on blood, so he was airlifted to the hospital.

Tears run down David's face as he stared into the sunset and watched the little basket take his partner to the ER where granted they would help but they were again taking him away from David. It seemed whenever Colby was out of his sight he managed to get himself injured. But David thought, 'this time you were staring right at him and he still managed to vanish into the river."

The ride to the hospital was filled with a tense silence as the whole car was lost in their own thoughts wishing for news about Colby.

With the combined time of walking out of the brush and driving in ridiculously insane traffic, team arrived too late to see Colby before he was wheeled into surgery and they were directed to a waiting room

After two hours of waiting, Charlie glanced down at his watch and saw he was five hours later to meet his grad students. That made him break down, the knowledge that he and his family were waiting to find out the fate of their teammate and his grad students were waiting to discuss what they should write their theory on.

Amita hugged him and the rest of the team ignored his outburst as they were greeted a woman whom called "Family of Colby Granger?"

They jumped to their feet and waited tensely as she started to talk:

"He lost a lot of blood and the infection started to travel to his vital organs, but we replaced his blood volume and are treating the infection. The next 12 hours are critical, but the odds are in his favor. I have seen men recover from worst infections and blood lose''.

They all breathed sighs of relief and David asked "When can we see him?''

The doctor continued "I can bring back one visitor now, but the rest of you will have to wait until he is stronger to see him''. David turned to his boss and quickly said "Don can I please go see him? I promise to keep you updated''.  
Don nodded right away, knowing that David would drive himself crazy if he couldn''t keep an eye on his partner right now.

"Okay everyone else" he said turning to the rest of group "You should go home and come back in the morning to see him; sounds like we are in for a long haul''.

In the end he could not convince anyone to go home, and the team sat in the chairs in the lobby and tried to fall asleep, hoping that would pass the time until they could see Colby.

David followed the doctor down the rows of rooms and stepped into the room she pointed at.

He saw Colby lying there and almost couldn't believe it was him. He looked so different with such pale skin and freaky IV lines everywhere. At least he is breathing on his own and isn't intubated David thought.

Colby tried to open his eyes but it felt like someone had glued them shut. He tried again fighting the exhaustion and focusing on waking up so his team could stop freaking out about him.

He succeeded on the third try and spotted David sleeping the chair to his right. He wondered where the rest of the team was and nudged David's leg to wake him up. David's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet, only to fall back down. This shocked Colby enough to turn over and try to see what happened. A second later, David groaned and pulled himself back into the chair.

Colby glared at him "What was that man? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?''

"Me give you a heart attack? It was you who decided to take a swim into the most dangerous river in the city and try to bleed out on the bank!''

Colby nodded "Well I feel okay now. What is wrong with you?'' David looked at him for another second and instead of answering his questions, whispered "Really when you fell through the bridge I thought I was going to collapse; I had not been that scared since we find out that Don had been stabbed'' .

Colby accepted David's display of emotion and remained quiet. They stared at each other for a second; Colby glad that Don had not died that day and David glad that the universe seemed to like him and kept bringing his teammates back from the edge.

Davis winced and glanced down at his ankle.

For the first time he noticed it looked swollen "Well I guess that fall I took trying to find you was a little harder than I thought''.

"David'' Colby said "What happened?''

David stared at Colby again, slightly concerned that he did not remember all of it.

As he finished telling the story Colby said "Yea I have always wanted to ride in a medical helicopter''. David's glare changes and Colby quickly added "Don't judge. I had a very weird childhood''.

David stared a second longer and laughed, glad his partner was alert enough to start an argument.

Then a nurse hurried and started to check on Colby, who waved her off and said "He is the one with a sprained ankle. Treat him first''. The nurse finished taking his vitals and turned to David, who made a face at the wheelchair he offered him.

"Dude go. I promise not to fall into any rivers in the time it takes you to get a pair of crutches''.

Don woke to a nurse rolling David down the hallway in a wheelchair. Wait he thought I thought Colby was the injured one.

David noticed his boss' face and was quick to reassure him "I apparently sprained my ankle trying to get to Colby fast enough. I didn't even notice, I was so wrapped up in making sure Colby was okay''. By this time the rest of the team was up, and the nurse told them Colby and David would both make a full recovery and would be able to return to active duty in about two weeks.

He escorted the group down the hall to Colby's room who woke up again when they all walked in and smiled.

The anxiety of the whole team dropped a hundred points when they saw the familiar grin and Don asked how David make it out of the car just fine, but Colby dropped into the river.

Colby thought about the moments before he fell into the water and laughed suddenly "I put my left foot down first.''

The team looked confused. "I'm left footed. I took my left foot out of the car first and the board had been set up for a right footed person so I didn't land on the board, I landed in the water''.


End file.
